WHY use the term "hate"?! Couldn't you just as well have used words like "least prefer" or "dislike". "Hate" is such a strong and negative word! Just because I by chance do not like to read hentai, that doesn't mean that I hate it.

It isn't a matter of hating, so much as what I find the most offensive. Often, demographics that I like have categories that I find highly offensive. The only demographic that I avoid like the plague because it offends me is hentai. I find allot of manga directed at males to be offensive, being a feminist, but I also find some shoujo and josei to be offensive because of the weak, stupid and dependant female leads. It depends on the writer, except in demographics devoted to sex, where even a good story line can't redeem the manga.

________________We work in the dark, we do what we can, we give what we have, out doubt is our passion and our passion is our task, the rest is the madness of art. Henry james

I don't get why so much hate against this poll, at least in my case, the more heated the discussion the happier i get. If i ever get the feeling i'm making someone unhappy my life is twice as good. The other day I was in crowded bus and this young woman was expecting me to stand up soon, so i did just that, then stretched my arms and sit back down, her face made the rest of my travel thrice as enjoyable, it was hard to keep the grin in check.

All the same, the Fujoshis thinking they have a good arguments just to realize it isn't as solid as they tough it was and go into rampage-repetitive-walltext mode is the best a poll ever did to for me.

but I also find some shoujo and josei to be offensive because of the weak, stupid and dependant female leads.

How is that offensive?If a character is weak, stupid and dependent, then that's their character flaw. The character does not represent you or your bloody gender, but their own selves. You are reading about somebody else. It's not all about you.

If you say "hating yaoi isn't homophobic, in my opinion. hating yaoi simply because it contains gay people in it, however, is homophobic.", then that would mean that people like me, who enjoy the romance genre but don't want to see to men as a couple, would be considered "homophobic." I'm somehow morally deficient and backward thinking because I don't find reading about homosexual males entertaining? That doesn't seem right. To be judged and insulted based on something like personal taste in manga.

Earlier, I mentioned that there wasn't much difference between shoujo and yaoi (high school based) or josei and yaoi (workplace based). If there are many women who enjoy shoujo but don't care for yaoi, the obvious conclusion would be that they don't want to read about two men in a romantic relationship. They are, however, fine with reading about a guy and a girl in a romantic relationship. Which is to say, the male participants in the coupling are the problem. Would that make them homophobic?

I know one girl who reads nothing but yaoi. She even laughed at me because I read shoujo. Once, while in a conversation between classes, she told me she wouldn't considered reading anything outside of her beloved BL. She doesn't like reading about heterosexual manga couples or female homosexual manga couples. Does that mean she has some type of phobia (irrational fear) of heterosexual coupes or lesbians? Of course not. It's just that she doesn't like reading about them.

Would we call a white person racist if they didn't like rap music? I mean, even if they gave a reason for their dislike of it, we have no way of proving it true. I'm black and I don't care for rap. I'm certainly not racist. I don't like rock and roll, tomatoes, reality shows like The Bachelor, fighting games or Apple electronics. I may not prefer them, but they're not considered phobias either.

Instead of using the silly term "homophobic", which has many definitions because of it's dubious origins, maybe we should go back to using the time-honored prejudice. Simply defined as having a preconceived notion or idea without knowledge on the subject, this could be the reason SOME people don't like yaoi. I don't consider myself one of them, since I've got more knowledge on it than I'd probably ever admit to.

An interesting side-note: When looking up the definitions of phobia, homophobia, agoraphobia, acrophobia and claustrophobia, all have the similar definition of fear or dread. Only ONE has the added definition of antipathy. Can you guess which one? Did you guess homophobia? Ding, ding, ding. Even the base "-phobia" is only defined as a persistent, irrational fear. Antipathy, dislike and aversion aren't mentioned at all. Why was it added to homophobia? It has nothing to do with the term referring to humans, since agoraphobia can be used for fear of crowds and crowded places. This difference in definition should have people questioning its validity as a usable term. I mean, fear and hate aren't exactly the same. Ah well, whatever...

You've just nailed a very important point that most people overlook! Everything doesn't represent everybody. Some people are smart, some are stupid. Some are lazy, loud, outgoing, shy, dependent, meek, popular, athletic, bookworms...the list goes on. Let's not even get into the idea that we're talking fictional characters and a retelling of some actual event. I'm now convinced that some people like being offended, so they make up reasons to feel insulted. Some people are also vain.